BOTNS #363: Favorite books of 2015?

Books on the Nightstand

In which we discuss listener favorites, Michael's favorite books of 2015, and books that I love even though I refuse to choose favorites. This is our last episode of 2015, as we're taking next week off to spend Christmas week with our families and our books. We've closed out the poll of Books on the Nightstand listeners' favorite books of all time, and favorite books published in 2015. Favorite book of all time: tie between A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Favorite book published in 2015: There was a runaway winner -- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Second and third were Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff) and A God in Ruins (Kate Atkinson). See the full results here (pdf) and consider using this to jumpstart your reading for 2016. Audiobook of the week (02:56) This week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week is actually several audiobooks -- those chosen by The Washington Post as the Best Audiobooks of 2015. The list includes: The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald The Cartel by Don Winslow The Dust That Falls from Dreams by Louis de Berniers Honeydew by Edith Pearlman Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook Our favorite books of 2015 (maybe) In the past, we've usually focused the last BOTNS episode of the year on our favorite books of the year. I'm going to stage a revolt, though. I read a lot of great books this year, but I'm not sure that I can actually make a "favorites" list. I had one definite favorite (no surprise, A Little Life). But I also read so many other books that I loved and it feels unfair to pit them against each other. In the Country by Mia Alvar Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon The Book of Aron by Jim Shephard The Mare by Mary Gaitskill Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez Gratitude by Oliver Sacks Michael did make a list: Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahesi Coates Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (on audio, narrated by Edward Hermann) Devotion by Adam Makos If you do want "Best of" lists, check out Largehearted Boy, which compiles all of the lists that are published online every year. It's a massive, massive list. Another fun read was sent to us by a listener: Winners and Losers: Publishers pick the 2015 books they loved, missed, and envied. Have fun!